On Silent Wings
by AerithYuna75
Summary: A collection of short stories, song-fics, poems, songs, and just random drabbles about my two favorite video game characters ever: Zack Fair and Aerith Gainsborough.
1. Chapter 1: Tears in the Rain

**Hi guys! Aerith here. So this is the compilation of all the Zack and Aerith stuff I've ever written, and it will be continuously updated...because I never will stop writing about these two. They are the sweetest couple in all worlds ever created, and I'm glad they're together in the Lifestream :). Love lasts forever, no?**

* * *

_This song is called Tears in the Rain by Robin Beck. It fit Zack and Aerith perfectly...I can say that I cried a little bit while listening to the song, it was that fitting. _

_Enjoy!_

Tears in the Rain

Pink. White. Yellow. The hues of her flowers. The only colors left in her life after he had left. Without him, she was too afraid to look up towards the sky, at the blue that she loved but just couldn't bring herself to enjoy...

There had always been a faint link between him and her. There, but almost not. The girl made sure that she never let it out of her sight.

And just like that, it had snapped.

It had been subdued and quiet for four years...then the sudden spark, a reawakening...not as _gone _as it had been before.

But now it was, if possible, even more clouded than before.

_It's a rainy night and it's over_

_Tears are gonna fall any minute now._

_And I know that it's you I gotta get over_

_I know I do but I don't know how._

She had collapsed in the midst of the flowers after the realization had dawned on her...he wasn't coming back home. _No, he's coming back...he's coming back...he's coming back...he said he would..._She kept saying it to herself over and over, trying to convince her aching heart of it...but in the depths of her soul, she knew it to be true. So why could she not stand up? Fear of falling back down? _No...there's no one to catch me anymore. That's what I'm afraid of_.

_I pretend that I'm in control now_

_I won't fall apart till I walk away._

_And I say to myself you're gonna be stronger_

_I tell myself it's better this way._

She could not, no matter how hard she tried, convince herself that she had to move on. She could not convince herself that she _could _move on. She only knew that she must, no matter what...he would have wanted it.

_You can't see tears in the rain,_

_No matter how hard you try._

_You'll never see anything,_

_Only the rain in my eyes._

She had always smiled by day...reassuring, protecting, laughing, smiling. She was a light, a precious flower of the filth that characterized her home. Treasured and needed by everyone. By night...she would lie curled up in her bed, the inner fear free to shine through at last. Twisted recollections of needles stuck into her chubby baby arms swirled over her, taunting, teasing. Horrifically altered memories of him, dead or dying or calling her name, sneered and snickered and tried to pull the bedsheets off of her.

But by day, to everybody but herself, she was the flower girl.

Nobody would ever know how much pain she was in.

_The time has come_

_I'm letting go now_

_I'll put it all behind me and turn the page_

_And I'll make you believe that it don't matter_

_You'll never see it's all a charade..._

People hadnoticed the absence of the flower girl's bright spirit...one _would _notice the only light in a pitch-black room go out.

And the flower girl herself was aware of this. She couldn't help it, though...the fact that he wasn't coming back was too huge for her to comprehend.

She was staring blankly into her flowerpatch, only for the first time in months noticing the browned petals and leaves, the scattered clumps of dead flowers. This only brought on more tears...tears of apology, but tears nonetheless. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was so caught up in my own problems that I haven't been noticing the problems of everybody around me..._

Her tears splashing off the delicate blooms, she absorbed herself in watering and weeding them, flinching every time she had to uproot a dead flower to make space for the new ones. Their soft whispers grew louder. _You have to leave the past behind, _they said to her in their quiet voices. _You are _the _flower girl, the only light in this dark place. They need you. The world needs you_.

"I'm just a flower girl, though," she said out loud, absentmindedly wiping some tears off her cheeks and smearing dirt on them in the process.

_You're not just a flower girl,_ the flowers protested, waving indignantly even though there was no breeze, _You have a destiny that is closely intertwined with the Planet's. You cannot let the past block the path of your fate._

She didn't respond to this, for she knew it to be true. Ever since she was small she had known...she was different, and that difference made her important. To _everyone..._

It was then that she made her decision.

"I'll never forget you," she said softly to the air, hoping that her words would reach his wandering spirit. "But I've got to move on. For everybody's sake."

The flowers nodded their heads in approval.

And from that day onwards, the flower girl was the flower girl once more, her light set ablaze with a fierce passion. She shone so bright that all who had worried and wondered about her forgot that her spirit had been extinguished altogether.

Nobody, even after her death, ever even guessed the existence of the pain she had suffered.


	2. Chapter 2: One Soul, One Body

**Hello again! Now this is a special one-shot I wrote…it stemmed from my own curiosity of death. Specifically, watching yourself die. Isn't that more than a little eerie? That's one reason I am firmly against time travel. This is my take of Aerith's thoughts on her death. **_**Watching **_**her own death.**

One Soul, One Body

It is said that the body can be run through, completely mangled, shredded, and ripped, but the soul will remain intact. Whole and shining clean, as if the horrors that destroyed your physicality had never happened.

Now imagine that you were watching that happen. To yourself.

She was. She felt the sword enter through her back, pierce through her liver, her stomach, and then exit out the other side. And not only did she feel; she was watching too. Like a bystander watching a small child being bullied...except in her case, there was nothing she could do about it.

This was really it, then. She had never thought it would be this way...all that hiding and ducking from the men in the dark suits that stood out so blatantly from the poverty of her home, all the strange alleyways, strange people she encountered while running away, anywhere that was away from them and the monstrosity they represented...it had led to this?

She felt the bile rising in her throat...whether from her real body or this new, ghostly one she knew not. In fact, it was rather as if she was living the emotions of two people, two _separate _people...

_Her vitals took a few seconds to catch up to the fact that a foreign something had rendered her torso into almost two equal parts. _

It was here that she suddenly had a front seat view of the event...the event of her death. Revulsion boiled up from the pit of her belly...but no, wait, she was seeing her own eyes widen in shock and surprise as the sword _exited _through her belly...

_In the few milliseconds that it took for her eyes to widen in pain, the lights began flashing. _

She was seeing something. What was she seeing? She could see it in her own eyes...dancing tauntingly, so close yet so far away, so out of reach...

_No, not lights...although they could have been mistaken for that. Memories...memories of all that she had loved, everyone she had cared for, everything that she lived, died, fought, and cried for. It was like a flash flood in a dry canyon, the water overflowing and pushing out everything in its way. But there were still unoccupied cracks and crannies...those were reserved for the fear._

The grassy green eyes that she had spent so long staring at in the mirror when they were rimmed with crimson red lines were starting to flutter closed. But she could see what she somehow knew nobody else would...the dismay, the doubt, the dread of death. It was too late, of course...but it didn't stop the girl..._both _the girls from crying out for help.

_The flashes were sporadic as she slowly fell, but still bitterly and cuttingly painful. The blue eyes...both pairs of them. The laughs, the smiles, the clouds, the sky..._

She could not stand it. She could not watch as she fell slowly, painstakingly slowly, into the arms of the boy whose eyes were wide with pain and shock, precisely as hers had been a few milliseconds ago. Or was it a few hours? A few years? But for that matter, what was time?

_She could see the flashes dying in strength and potency, and the crushing dark starting to creep over the remaining light in her head. No. She could not lose the light...the flowers...they needed it...everything needed light, everybody needed light...but no, there was only the stygian blackness now...there must be light, there must be..._

She was so close to the culprit of the crime that she could hear him inhale sharply as he yanked the sword out of her back, speeding her stretched out fall. Her own eyes were now completely closed, the blood running like rivers down from the gaping hole in her dress. She shuddered, clenching her fists and swallowing the bile even though she had expected that.

What she did not expect was the sudden appearance of a too presence behind her. Two familiar arms were going around her waist and there was a soft murmur, "Shh, shh, I know it's not okay, I know, but hang in there, just like you did for me..."

She had been crying, unbeknownst to herself. She probably could have guessed it, had she been conscious of herself and only herself. "You came."

"Well, yeah...where else would I be? You called for help...and I told you once that I'd always pick up when you called, right?"

The lightheartedness, whether real or forced, was enough to bring the faintest trace of a smile to her face, even though it disappeared within a second. "I'm scared. I don't want to -"

"I know. Believe me, I know. I didn't want to either. But you have to. It's already happened. No use crying over a crushed flower, remember?"

She used to tell him that...the memory lit up the dark corner that she had not dared to venture into after he disappeared like a small candle.

_And she knew. She knew that there was no turning back now._

As the consciousness of the body faded away forever, her soul absorbed it. The sense of clarity and order she had known while she was alive returned to her. She was able to keep her head as she watched the ending scene, as the sword was fully extracted, splattering her dress and his hands with her blood. She was able to close her eyes and say to herself softly, "It has been done, so let it be said."

The arms tightened around her waist...the arms of someone much less substantial than the one who held what _had_ been her, but now was as inconsequential as a drop of water in a river. But while the tears of the other started, the comforting warmth of the first one was flowing through her veins like the blood that now stained the floor. His quiet words, "I won't let go, don't worry."

"I know." She had always known, even when it seemed like they were just words.

She looked at the view before her, her heart wrenching and yet intact and calm. She would never forget, she vowed to herself. And neither will they.

There was some reassurance in that fact. That combined with his strength, and she suddenly felt reenergized. Like she had been reborn. Ready to embark on the next journey, unafraid of where the path would take her next. "I think I'm ready now."

"That's the spirit."

She took his hand and took one step, but turned back to look at them one last time in spite of herself. She could see the pain and sorrow emanating off them, _him_, like a bright light. Guilt washed over her, so strong that it must have transferred through their linked hands. He caught on and chided her gently, "Don't. That'll make it worse."

"I'm not ready for goodbye." Just as she thought that she had eliminated all fear, it was creeping up on her again. "It can't be forever. It can't."

"It's not. We'll see them again, won't we?"

"Yeah," she admitted softly, sighing slightly and bracing herself for the next step, that would take her away from them forever.

"You can do it." His blue eyes were boring into hers, just as they had done in life, with the same love and intensity. "Come on. One more step."

Her mind told her to take it...he was there, and that meant she was safe. Forever. Her foot moved forward without her consciously realizing it.

She would reflect on it later...how now, in her memories, her last seconds seemed so strangely and inappropriately short.


	3. Chapter 3: Aerith's Theme

Hallo, my lovely readers! Aerith here! :) So this is something a bit different...it's not really _fanfic _in the definition of the word, but it's not canon either. It's not a poem either...can you guess? :) What it is...I wrote lyrics to Aerith's Theme from FF7 (Nobuo Uematsu is the greatest composer that ever lived :D). I actually have a ton of song lyrics things like this...another version of Aerith's theme, Tifa's theme, Why, To Zanarkand...if you guys like this, please review! I'll clean them up and post them :).

This melody does not belong to me; it belongs to the genius Mr. Uematsu. Thank you for this song.

And now...enjoy! :)

Aerith's Theme

Here I am

once again

Finally united with my homeland

I know it's bad

but I am glad

That you could be here with me

I know we'll

never get

to return where we first met

My whole life

started there with you

True, it was short

But not my love for you

I'm back in your arms

For all eternity

Safe from the evil

After all those long years

I finally have nothing to fear

All the pain

the tears like rain

Memories dissolved into the current

The loneliness

has vanished

Because I know

you'll never leave again

Take my hand

and we'll fly

Back to there, back to our lives

Remember

all those times, under the sky

No thoughts of saying good-bye

We never knew we would die...

But I'm back in your arms

For all eternity

Safe from the evil

After all those long years

I finally have nothing to fea


	4. Chapter 4: Specks of a Feather Aerith

**Hi guys! So I'm sure all of you have been told by your English teachers: For creative writing, take a random word and write a short story about it. Well, since I don't exactly have enough time to do an entire **_**story**_**, I went to a random word generator, grabbed twenty words and wrote a few sentences for each.**

**NOTE: These are all from Aerith's point of view; I started twenty for Zack too. BUT (there's always a but xP) I do have to go to a stay away camp for three weeks so I probably won't be posting stuff till I come back from then. In the mean time, go read Yuna's writing! :)**

**Goodbye for now! (or maybe inspiration will hit me before I leave…ya never know!)**

**~Aerith**

Regimented

The joy Aerith felt when she was with Zack was so strong...to the point that she wondered if it was wrong to feel so happy while so many others suffered around her.

Mustier

The chest that Aerith locked her heart in after he left was slowly rusting over...but the heart inside remained strong.

Sanctioned

The hunted fell in love with the hunter...and that love could not be broken by anything...not even their identities.

Unmarked

Aerith reflected sometimes, when she was by herself, on how innocent Zack was. If she hadn't seen him fight off monsters with her own eyes, she never would have believed he was a SOLDIER...not for one second.

Kept

Aerith never knew, nor would have believed, that Zack still had that note she had written so long ago.

Heated

The blush that rose to Aerith's cheeks when asked if Zack was her boyfriend gave the asker the answer they needed.

Factual

As the years dragged on, without him...Aerith was beginning to wonder if he was just a dream, a figment of her imagination...but the ribbon she had tied lovingly around her braid reminded her that there was still someone to wait for.

Detailed

Aerith's letters were long...her mother was always complaining about the amount of paper she used for each one. But Aerith just had to fill every last inch of the pure white sheet up...with the number of flowers she sold, the things she did, random things...that she knew only Zack would care about.

Dependant

The winged creature that had always reminded Zack of his friend was her only hope now. If this letter didn't reach him...then she would have to accept the fact that he would never come home.

Link

Even across the distance between them, Aerith could still feel that something...something had happened to Zack. What it was, she didn't know. But the nagging feeling that he would never come home had flared in her heart again.

Depth

_He might seem like a big, scary SOLDIER_, Aerith reflected thoughtfully, _but there's so much more, so much more to him than one might think..._

Derived

Aerith knew as well as anybody where that electric shade of blue came from. But she didn't care...not one little bit. _It's true_, she said to herself with a small laugh, _Love really does blind a person, doesn't it_?

If that was the case...then she wouldn't mind staying blind for the rest of her life.

Addressed

Aerith faithfully signed her name on each letter...but never knew exactly where to send it to. She didn't even know if he had received _any _of them...she just kept sending them in the hope that one out of eighty nine would reach him.

Tonic

Many people asked Aerith if she was sick...her sunken eyes and thin, almost skeletal face worried the residents of the slums...without their flower girl, the darkness would be absolute. They asked her if she needed help, needed anything at all...but she turned them down. They could not give her what..._who _she wanted.

Arranging

On her particularly bad days, Aerith would take her collection of ribbons to the church and organize them by color, shape, size...anything that came to mind. Eventually she broke into tears of loneliness and mixed them all up again, for she knew that ribbons were a poor replacement for the boy she loved.

Waltz

For a certain period of time after Zack's visits, Aerith's euphoria was often so high that she sang to the birds and did involuntarily little dances to herself at home. Her mother never failed to point this out, but Aerith shrugged it off with a smile and a wave of her hand.

Inevitably

Aerith had known it would happen one day...that he would die and leave her alone, stuck in the harsh world of the living...but that didn't mean it had to hurt any less.

Remove

No matter how hard Aerith tried to rid herself of the scars of her past, they never seemed to fade.

Background

Every time Aerith called up her memories of Zack in her mind's eye, she saw behind him not the flowers that she knew had been there as a fact...she only saw battlefields, stained with blood and echoing with the screams of men.

Spur

Aerith looked down at her final letter to him, the words blurring as tears filled her eyes. Before she could stop herself, she had written _I love you_ at the bottom.


	5. Chapter 5: Specks of a Feather Zack

**Aerith-chan has returned, guys! Sorry this took so long (in fact, it took ****_way _****too long...), but I hope you enjoy it! I'm working on more stuff...so don't give up on me yet! :)**

* * *

**Sear**  
As he returned to the Planet, the fire in Zack's heart as he thought of Aerith and how he had failed her was still burning strong.

**Forfeit**  
When offered a minor assignment, Zack had to take plenty of time to decide if he wanted to instead spend his time in the loving gaze of a certain pair of green eyes.

**Rushed**  
Zack had told Aerith he'd come back soon, very soon...now that four years had passed, he felt like he could die happy if he just could tell her that it was all a mistake, and that he still did love her...

**Risk**  
Zack could have run from the soldiers...but he stood his ground and fought. For every fallen soldier, he became one step closer to that church in the slums.

**Pointing**  
Zack always had that nagging feeling at the back of his mind that it wasn't just a coincidence that instead of falling to his death, as he should have, he fell into the arms of an angel.

**Tedious**  
It was hard work, Zack grudgingly admitted to himself as he half dragged, half carried Cloud across the countryside towards Midgar. But, as he reminded himself every day, every step took him closer to the soft doe-eyes and warm, gentle hands of the girl faithfully waiting for him.

**Torrent**  
Zack never noticed the rivers of blood that pooled around him, tainting his sword, clumping in his hair, staining his hands and face. He never even noticed the pain he should have felt. The only hole in his heart was the one that formed at the thought of failing the girl he loved.

**Quail**  
Zack could honestly say that he wasn't afraid of monsters, summons, soldiers...the only thing he was _really _afraid of was Aerith's reaction when he would inevitably trample one of her flowers.

**Lowest****  
**If Midgar was a house, then the slums were the basement. But, Zack reflected as he played with a silky auburn curl of hair, there is always a light for those afraid of the dark.

**Strewn**  
The hyperactivity of Zack's stories seemed to be directly proportional to the number of trampled flowers on the floor afterwards.

**Drawl**  
Zack was frequently teased by Aerith for his country accent, which, she said between giggles, sounded kind of weird mixed in with the Midgar one. In response to Zack's pouty expression, she quickly added, "Normal is overrated, right?"

**Induction**  
Zack had thought the day he became a SOLDIER First Class would be the happiest day of his life...instead, it came a rather dim second to the times he spent in the church with Aerith, filled with sunlight and brightly colored flowers...

**Gentle**  
Every gust of wind, every falling leaf, and every bubbling stream that Zack encountered reminded him of where he was headed...where he wished he could just appear at by just closing his eyes.

**Wake**  
Zack never turned around to see the damage dealt on the battlefield...he had done _that _before, and he didn't want to doubt himself and the things he risked his life for every day again. Because now...he _definitely _had someone to risk his life for.

**Telephone**  
Zack waited eagerly every day for Aerith's phone call...but it seemed that she always called when he was in the middle of fighting for his life.

**Ultimate**  
Zack knew that this would be his last battle...and yet he jumped into it with as much pride as he had when he had been a SOLDIER. But this time...he was fighting _for_ something far different.

**Close**  
"Cloud, I can see Midgar!" The increasing desperation to reach home and Aerith vanished with Zack's first glimpse of the Shinra tower...he had never been so glad to see it in his life.

**Assembled**  
Zack couldn't wait until he and Aerith finished the flower wagon...she'd have no choice but to go above the plate, and he could finally show her how beautiful the sky really was...

**Struggling**  
The doctors couldn't understand...four years soaked in pure mako energy, and the sample still had the strength to mutter someone's name? "He must care for this 'Aerith' very much..." one said thoughtfully before walking off to report the phenomenon to Professor Hojo.

**Sweep**  
Zack didn't allow death to completely wipe away his memories...he kept the ones that made him who he was and reluctantly let the rest go. He noticed a while later, with some amusement and a touch of sadness, that most of the recollections he still held were of Aerith.


	6. Chapter 6: Waiting for You

**Finally, a new chapter! :3 I really enjoyed writing this, actually, it brought me many smiles :). What it is: a series of voicemail messages Zack and Aerith left each other, because they're always calling each other at the wrong time. I was trying to figure out a way to do that, because I didn't want to write the detail between the calls :P, and then I read a fanfic which beginning and ended with a few voicemails kind of like these, so I was like, "Hm..." and this was what came out. I hope you like it as much as I liked writing it!**

* * *

"Hey, you've reached Zack Fair at his personal number, so you've probably got something important to say! I'm busy right now, but I promise I'll call you back as soon as I hear your message! So leave one, after this really squeaky sounding beep!"

_Beep!_

"Nice answering machine, Zack. Is that somebody yelling at you I hear in the background? Probably. Anyways, I was just wondering when you were coming back - I haven't seen you for two weeks! You haven't called me either...well, I'll berate you for that later. Hey, I can bring some food so you won't have to eat the cafeteria food. So...I'll see you later! Oh...oh yeah, this is Aerith. I'm bad at leaving messages."

_Beep!_

* * *

"The Sector 5 number you have reached is not available right now. Please leave your name and phone number after the tone, and we will return your call."

_Beep._

"Aerith, when I come back from this mission, we are going to make you an answering machine message - I don't want to have to listen to this boring one every time I call you. _And_ I have to teach you how to leave a message - you and technology just don't mix, huh? Anyways...I'm almost home...I'm on the phone, sir...sorry, my commander was yelling at me to hang up. I think that's what Angeal was doing in my answering machine message. But yeah, I'll drop by tomorrow. Bring that food! Oh yeah, I got you something too..."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hey, you've reached Zack Fair at his personal number, so you've probably got something important to say! I'm busy right now, but I promise I'll call you back as soon as I hear your message! So leave one, after this really squeaky sounding beep!"

_Beep!_

"Aw, you didn't have to get me anything! Really, you didn't. But anyways, I wanted to ask you when you were coming...because my mom is making me dust the whole house and I can't get out till I finish. I'll be done by lunch, though. Be there, or...else!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but...Zack, be quiet! Sorry, hyperactive puppy in the vicinity...but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"I keep calling this number just to hear you say that. Seriously, I would show Angeal this if he wasn't...away. Oh, damnit, my commander's yelling at me to get off the phone...seriously, they should give me a day off. I just freaking _puked my guts out_. If Shinra doesn't do something about the cafeteria food, I will die of food poisoning. Or possibly starvation.  
_Anyways_...wow, I got off topic. What I was _planning_ to say first was that I'll drop by in a few days, I don't know when, because I think I have a mission coming up...I'll call you back when I get more info. I still have to make you that wagon, don't I? Yeah, I do - oh, damn, I have to go. Later!"

_Beep._

* * *

"Hey, you've reached Zack Fair at his personal number, so you've probably got something important to say! I'm busy right now, but I promise I'll call you back as soon as I hear your message! So leave one, after this really squeaky sounding beep!"

_Beep!_

"Hey, Zack, it's me. Sorry, did you try to visit when I was gone? _Somebody_ dropped Phoenix Down on the steps, and you're the only person I know who has Phoenix Down...it's sad that I missed you, I was really looking forward to seeing you and building the wagon...  
Anyways, pick up when you can...you haven't come by in ages! I _would_ lecture you over the phone, but I think I'll do it in person because it has a nice ending. And you know...me and leaving messages...yeah. So...see you later, I guess."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hey, you've reached Zack Fair at his personal number, so you've probably got something important to say! I'm busy right now, but I promise I'll call you back as soon as I hear your message! So leave one, after this really squeaky sounding beep!"

_Beep!_

"Zack, you usually respond to my messages faster than this. You're probably on a mission, but...still! I understand if you can't find the time, but _please_ call me back!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hey, you've reached Zack Fair at his personal number, so you've probably got something important to say! I'm busy right now, but I promise I'll call you back as soon as I hear your message! So leave one, after this really squeaky sounding beep!"

_Beep_!

"That beep really is pretty squeaky, isn't it? Anyways...it's been two days, three hours, and fifteen minutes since my last message and you _still_ haven't responded, Zack Fair! _Seriously_, that is not how you treat a lady! I thought _you_ would know that, being...you! _Call me_, okay? I'll see you soon."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hey, you've reached Zack Fair at his personal number, so you've probably got something important to say! I'm busy right now, but I promise I'll call you back as soon as I hear your message! So leave one, after this really squeaky sounding beep!"

_Beep!_

"Zack, what _is_ it? I gave you three days, and you _still_ haven't checked your answering machine? You! Zack Fair, technology obsessed SOLDIER First Class! The Midgar plate could have collapsed and you would still be checking your voicemail box! Really, though, you're starting to worry me. And you _know_ what happens when I get worried, I know you do. So call me back, _okay_? Promise? You'd better promise!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but...Zack, be quiet! Sorry, hyperactive puppy in the vicinity...but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Aerith, I'm really,_ really_ sorry. It's just...stuff's happened. I'll be home in a few days, okay? I promise I'll see you soon."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hey, you've reached Zack Fair at his personal number, so you've probably got something important to say! I'm busy right now, but I promise I'll call you back as soon as I hear your message! So leave one, after this really squeaky sounding beep!"

_Beep!_

"Thank _Gaia_ you're alright, Zack! I was seriously starting to wonder if you'd ever return my message. I'll ask you what happened when you come home, but come home _soon_, because that message was awful cryptic and did almost_ nothing_ to cure my stress. You sounded awful strange. Visit me soon, okay?"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Hey, what happened to the old answering machine message? I liked that one!  
Actually, now that I think about it, you're probably going to say that about my new haircut too. Don't laugh _too_ hard, okay? I'm just warning you now!"

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Zack, _you_ changed _your_ answering machine message! This sounds nothing like you, I've never heard you sound so _serious_! And why are you talking in the third person? It's weird!  
You know what did make me laugh, though? Your last message. I checked my voicemail right after you left, which is kind of a shame. _Somebody_ was afraid I wouldn't like their haircut, hm? You know me better than that, Zack.  
Oh, darn, I'm getting another call - it's probably my mom. She heard my answering machine message the other day, and when I came home she was like, "Who's Zack?" and I'm like, "Who?" and...yeah, it was pretty awkward. That's why I changed it. Oh, I'll talk to you soon, otherwise my mom'll yell at me...bye!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Hey, I know you're going to be busy for the next few months, so I won't call too often, okay? I don't want your message inbox getting filled up with my messages, because they're kind of unimportant. So...yeah. I'll talk to you in a bit!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Your messages are _not_ unimportant...what gave you that idea? I'd rather have _your_ messages spamming my voicemail than my colleagues', anyways...  
Yeah, somebody told me the same thing about my answering machine...except it wasn't quite as polite. Apparently I need to sound like a SOLDIER, not like a teenage boy talking to his friends...so I pretty much copied my commander's.  
Huh, it's been like six months since I've actually had to leave a message for you...we've actually been calling each other at the right times. Well, spam my voicemail inbox with messages, will you? I really don't want anymore of my colleagues' boring ones..."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"You're right, Zack, I actually _have_ been catching you when you're free. I haven't laughed at your answering machine message for ages. I was just wondering when you're getting home, it's awful quiet around here without you! Especially in the winter when the whole _city_ is quiet. It's like I lost a friend. I can't wait to see you! So...bye for now!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Happy birthday, Aerith! Sorry it's like, really late for you, but I've been waiting _forever_ for it to hit midnight in Midgar. Damn Wutai and its damn different timezones, honestly. I'll be home by tomorrow...I hope...so we can have a late birthday party. And don't even argue about it, 'cause I already bought a ton of stuff in Wutai, okay? See you."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Thank you so much for thinking of me, Zack! It made my day, it really did...birthdays down here in the slums are more of a, 'You survived another year,' occasion than a celebratory one...you really didn't have to get me anything...you're too nice. Well, I can't wait to see you tomorrow...so bye for now!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"And before you say anything about it...because I know you will...yes, I did say you were too nice."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep_.

"I just had to call you back on this one...how did you know what I was going to say?"

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Because I know you well enough, silly puppy."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Ugh, that name. Would you give me an early birthday present and stop calling me that?"

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"No, because I already got you something for your birthday. And don't ask me what it is. You're only getting it when you show up here in person."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"You know I'll do that anyways."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Just a little extra incentive. Go do your work now and stop leaving such short messages."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Okay."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Happy birthday, Zack! You know, I just realized today that your birthday is on April Fool's Day, which I find _hilarious_. You have no idea. When it hit me I was laughing for ten minutes straight. It was strange.  
Anyways...Zack, if you don't stop by today, you won't get your birthday present. And trust me when I say it's a _really_ good present. There's your incentive. I'll see you later, bye!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"In retrospect, I came off bit strong in that last message. I know you turned eighteen, and if you're planning to go out to like, the bar with your friends, that's fine with me, okay? Sorry."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Seriously, Aerith, how well do you know me? I already told all the guys who asked me to come drinking that I was taking my girlfriend out for dinner. Don't wear anything too nice, I don't want to have to kill anyone for making a move on _my_ girl..."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"You told them that? You didn't have to do that, now I feel bad...well, not _too_ bad because I do really want to see you, but still, bad...  
Also, what do you mean, _your girl_? You can't just stick a flag in my head like I'm a plot of land or something!  
I'll finish that rant later...oh yeah, I baked you a cake...you _did_ say you liked chocolate, right?"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Don't feel bad. Trust me, you're a _way_ better conversationalist than those guys. They're so boring to be around. The drinking probably wouldn't help them either. Besides, I'd choose your baking over alcohol anyday. _Especially_ chocolate cake.  
Also, I want to hear the rest of that rant. It sounds pretty good.  
Really, though, you are my girl."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Aww, you think I'm a good conversationalist? Thanks, I've never heard that one before!  
Well, if you would tell me what you _mean_ by me being your girl, _maybe_ I'll reconsider ranting at you."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"You know what I mean."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Hey, this might sound kind of random, but do you have any lobelias in your garden? I found some packets of seeds in the Kalm general store and I thought you might want some."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"I bought the lobelias, then checked my phone and had a minor heart attack. I thought you'd respond within like, a minute...the message was about _flowers_, for Odin's sake...but its been a day and you haven't called me back? Pick up, Aerith!"

_Beep._

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Aerith, what the heck? Seriously, you haven't called me in two days, and I'm starting to freak out. And you know what happens when I freak out. Or...no, maybe you don't. Well, you don't want to find out, so _call me_, okay? Bye."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"Aerith, seriously, pick up, or I might just get fired for checking my phone too often."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"We have a term for this in the army. It's called MIA, _missing in action_."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

_Where are you?_ Do you want me to issue a search for you or something? Call me before I do that, because I swear to Odin I will.

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I lost my cellphone and I didn't find it till today, and I'm pretty much the only person in Sector 5 with a cellphone, so I couldn't borrow a phone or anything! Oh Gaia, you have _no_ idea how stressed out I was...because I knew I'd be stressing _you _out by not responding. I found it eventually, though...it fell out of my pocket while I was...on the way home. But never mind that, when are _you_ coming home? I'll be here waiting for you, just call me, okay? I'll have my phone on me this time!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

"It's alive! Well, thank Odin, because you were about to kill _me_ with the suspense. Did you see the ninety-odd calls I made? That ringtone of yours must have put someone to sleep, ringing that much. Anyways, yeah, I'll be home in a week or so. I'm tuckered out, by Ramuh...for a town called Kalm, it has _way_ too many problems. Bye, I'll see you..."

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Hey, Zack! I was just wondering when we were going to make the flower wagon, because you know, winter's coming fast and there'll be none of them left...so yeah. Stop by sometime, you know I'm always there! Bye!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hi, you've reached Aerith's number. I'm sorry I'm busy right now, but I'll return your call as soon as I can! So leave a message after the tone...thanks!"

_Beep._

I'm coming right now, see you there.

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Hey, so how's that mission going? Say it's going good, _please_, because you need to come home soon! It might sound weird, but I'm more worried about this mission than I was about any of your others, for some reason...I don't know. I might just be rambling, but...  
The flowers sold really well today! I'm only selling them for a few gil, but I'll try to drive up the price, like you said...but I'm not much of a bargainer.  
Yeah, I'm rambling. Call me back, okay? Bye!"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"It's only worrying me _slightly_ that you haven't called back in three days. This mission sounded important, so it figures...don't get hurt or anything, okay? I want to spend more time with you, remember?  
Oh, guess what, guess what. It turns out I _can_ bargain - there was this creepy teenage boy who asked me for my number, and I said I'd give it to him if he bought one of my flowers. Guess how much he paid? Three hundred gil. I didn't give him my number, either. I felt _kind_ of bad about it, but...hey. Business is business, right?"

_Beep._

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Okay, maybe a_ week_ is a bit much, Zack. Now I'm worried. I called you like, thrice yesterday and it didn't even go to your answering machine! I like hearing your voice, even if you sound dead serious and totally not like yourself...you'd better call me, okay? I need to hear you're alright."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"I come back after a busy week and I still don't see any calls from you? You have me officially scared out of my wits, Zack. Please, please, _please_ call me...it's really scaring me."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"Hellooooo? Anybody there?"

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"_Please_ don't scare me like this, Zack. Please tell me you're alright and that you'll come home and that I'll see you again. Please.  
I know, I'm going all sentimental, but...I can't help it."

_Beep!_

* * *

"Hello, you've reached Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class at his personal phone. He is not currently available, so please leave a message after the tone, and he will return your call."

_Beep!_

"I just realized today that...something might have happened to you so that you can't return my calls. I...I really want to just keep calling you, but I think this is the last message I'll leave because something _is_ wrong on your side, I just know it. I know you wouldn't not call for a month, you're not that kind of person. So I'll wait for you, alright? I'll be here. If you get this message...call me.  
I'll see you soon, Zack. I know I will. I love you, okay? Bye."

_Beep!_

* * *

_~FIN~_


End file.
